Gen Z investors are scrambling to protect their portfolios from political uncertainty as the midterms approach, but their anxiety could end up costing them.

A whopping 72% of Gen Z investors said they had already made changes to their retirement savings or investment portfolios in anticipation of the November elections , according to a survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute. That’s far more than the 17% of Baby Boomers who reported doing the same.

But the gap isn’t a stampede for the exits. About as many Gen Z investors added money to take advantage of current conditions as moved into safer investments, according to the survey. The first generation to grow up with free trades on their phones is treating the election as a market event.

Boomers’ decision to wait it out may be less about hard-won wisdom than about where they are in life. Most boomers are drawing down their savings or close to it, so a portfolio “change” for them usually means selling.…